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Scots Scientists Addressing Conservation in Sarawak

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Scots Scientists Addressing Conservation in Sarawak ISSUE 55 Scotland’s Biodiversity: Autumn Issue 2015 Atlas of Living Scotland The Atlas of Living Scotland, a new online biodiversity database built to educate, to inform and to promote Scotland’s remarkable natural world, has launched in beta form. The Atlas will store data and information on all 25,000+ species in Scotland including the white-tailed eagle, primrose and the basking shark. It will also hold habitat data including woodlands, wetlands and dunes based on SNH’s new EUNIS habitat map and classification. More than seven million species observations have already been committed to the platform that will also hold photographs and other types of biological data Organisations already contributing data to the Atlas include national and regional biological recording schemes and societies, government and non-government organisations, research and educational institutions, Local Environmental Records Centres, ecological consultancies, museums, botanic gardens and community groups. Anyone can help grow the Atlas of Living Scotland with their own photographs or observations. SCOTTISH NATURAL HERITAGE The Forum Issue 55 Autumn Issue 2015 SCOTTISH NATURAL HERITAGE Contents & Contacts Inside this issue: Atlas of Living Scotland 3-4 Rare Moth Buzzes into Lanarkshire 5 New National Nature Reserve—The Great Trossachs Forest 6-7 NASSTEC—Project to enhance wild plant seed industries 8-9 Featured Fungus—Laetiporus Sulphurous 10 SRUC—Countryside Management Course 11 Six Spot Burnet Moth found on Tiree 12 RBGE—Scots Scientist addresses conservationists in Sarawak 13 Parliament Publications 14 Tayside Biodiversity Action Plan Consultation 15 Trees for Life—Project to boost Red Squirrel Numbers 16-17 Climate Change—A Change of Priorities—SNH 18-19 Scotland's Tree of the Year 20-21 Flows to the Future - New Field Centre 22-23 Golden Eagles in Southern Scotland 24-25 Diary dates 26 Contact details Do you have a news story? Are you involved in a The views expressed in this newsletter are not project? If so, then let the Biodiversity Team necessarily the views of Biodiversity Scotland. know! Ask for our article guidelines to help you The editors reserve the right to edit or exclude make the most of your article. articles; the editors’ decisions are final. Email: [email protected] Tel: 01463 For further information about the Biodiversity 725325 Team, log on to: Biodiversity Team www.biodiversityscotland.gov.uk Scottish Natural Heritage Great Glen House Leachkin Road INVERNESS IV3 8NW Page 2 THE FORUM – new biodiversity data infrastructure for Scotland John Sawyer, Chief Executive of the National Biodiversity Network said: “This initiative would not be possible were it not for the work of the vast array of organisations that observe, record and document species and habitats in Scotland, most of which is done by volunteers and citizen scientists. From butterflies to birds, to fungi, mammals and plants, the Atlas of Living Scotland is a powerful new gateway to learning about every aspect of Scotland’s natural world”. The Atlas brings together biological data, merges them with other environmental data such as spatial layers for soil, climate and habitats and allows online analysis and interrogation. Data are held under a creative commons license to encourage innovation and collaboration over data analysis and use. The Atlas will have a spatial portal with analysis tools to enable users to intersect environmental data and biological occurrence data and to generate in-depth site reports. Users will also be able to perform species distribution modelling to predict changes to the spatial ranges of species as a result of environmental changes. The National Biodiversity Network’s new five-year strategy focuses on the collection and sharing of biological data to educate and inform. The biodiversity data infrastructure of the Atlas of Living Scotland is a major step forwards towards implementing that strategy in Scotland and is also a pilot for a potential initiative to develop the same data infrastructure for the entire United Kingdom. ISSUE 55 Page 3 Atlas of Living Scotland – cont. The Atlas was created by the Atlas of Living Australia team at Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia using the open source code and biodiversity data infrastructure that they developed over the last five years. The user interface was created by a team in Scotland in conjunction with a user group of people across the country. The project is a partnership between the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Scottish Natural Heritage and the National Biodiversity Network. Significant funding support for this work came from the European Commission LIFE+ funding programme which is supporting SEPA to deliver a range of partnership initiatives in Scotland to provide a trusted gateway to data and information about the environment, and involve Scotland’s citizens in discussion, monitoring and action to protect and improve the environment. The Atlas has been created as a daughter website to Scotland’s Environment Web. The beta version of the Atlas can be visited at www.als.scot and the team developing it welcomes any feedback and suggestions for improvements. Feedback will be used to develop the site further before the official launch in early 2016. If you would like to contribute to the Atlas as a Data Partner or would like more information about the site, please contact us at: [email protected]. If you want to join the User Testing Group please contact us at [email protected] To give feedback on the site please visit www.als.scot and email the team at: [email protected] Page 4 THE FORUM You Won’t Bee-lieve It! Rare Moth Buzzes into Lanarkshire A rare and unusual moth that disguises itself as a bee has been unexpectedly discovered at a Lanarkshire nature reserve, Butterfly Conservation Scotland has confirmed. The Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth is a day-flying moth that closely resembles a bumblebee – it buzzes like a bee and can even hover bee-like when feeding at flower heads. The moth is nationally scarce and is rare in Scotland where it is typically found in Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth – © John Knowler Argyll and the Highlands. The insect was discovered by volunteers from Butterfly Conservation’s Bog Squad – who were working to restore bogs at Kingshill Local Nature Reserve near Allanton village in North Lanarkshire. The Bog Squad team have been working at Kingshill this summer to help restore the peatland habitats at the site. The team have been helped by another volunteer group from Greenhead Moss Community Nature Park in Wishaw. Together the volunteer teams have successfully cleared seedlings from half a hectare of bog and has created five ditch blocking dams. David Hill, Bog Squad Project Officer for Butterfly Conservation Scotland said: “We were just about to begin our work when an eagle-eyed volunteer spotted the moth. It was a very exciting moment for everyone and an entirely unexpected discovery”. The Bog Squad team is a volunteer task force, created to carry out rehabilitation works on damaged peat bogs across the Scottish Central Belt, with funding from Scottish Natural Heritage’s led-Peatland Action project. Kingshill Bog Squad © Butterfly Conservation ISSUE 55 Page 5 New National Nature Reserve will be UK’s largest The UK’s newest and largest National Nature Reserve (NNR) – The Great Trossachs Forest – is a step closer to reality, after it was approved by the Board of Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). The Great Trossachs Forest NNR, which lies at the heart of the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, is home to magnificent wildlife in an area within an hour’s drive for 80% of Scotland’s population. Speaking after the Board meeting, Ian Ross, the SNH chairman, said: “I’m delighted that our Board has today given the go-ahead to the new Great Trossachs Forest NNR. Covering 16,500 hectares it will be Scotland’s largest reserve, with a variety of wildlife, habitats, and landforms, including some of national or international importance such as ancient woodland, wet woodland and upland wood pasture. “However, as well as being such an ecologically important site, The Great Trossachs Forest NNR clearly displays the key features associated with a NNR – it is nationally important, well managed and is inspiring and accessible to the public, offering a host of attractions for visitors to experience, savour, and enjoy. “This stunning location is an inspirational backdrop for people to responsibly enjoy Scotland’s outstanding natural heritage.” Page 6 THE FORUM Great Trossachs Forest Scotland’s newest reserve covers a swathe of land from Inversnaid on the east bank of Loch Lomond, through Loch Katrine and Glen Finglas and almost as far as Callander. The Great Trossachs Forest is owned and managed by RSPB Scotland, Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) and the Woodland Trust Scotland. With support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the partners are restoring the ground to a more natural mosaic of open hill ground and woodland. The habitat restoration programme will help species in decline, such as black grouse, and allow for a richer diversity of wildlife and plants in years to come. Wildlife in The Great Trossachs Forest includes black grouse, golden eagle, osprey, pine marten, red squirrel, water vole and otter. Sue Morris, Project Manager for The Great Trossachs Forest said: ”This accolade reflects the hard work that the partner organisations have put in to creating a major new forest that successfully balances the needs of wildlife with opportunities for recreation and tourism in the area. “We have a 200 year vision to create new woodland and other natural habitats on a landscape scale, ensuring that future generations can enjoy the outstanding natural heritage that the Trossachs have to offer.” For more information visit: www.thegreattrossachsforest.co.uk ISSUE 55 Page 7 NASSTEC—€3 million project underway ….
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